BNSF Line

BNSF Line
An inbound Metra train arrives in Naperville, pushed by an MP36PH-3S.
Overview
Owner	BNSF Railway (Leased to Metra)
Termini	Union Station Aurora
Stations	26
Website	metra.com/train-lines/bnsf
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	BNSF Railway Metra
Rolling stock	EMD F40PH/F40PHM-3 locomotives Gallery Cars
Daily ridership	63,000 (average weekday 2018)[1]
Ridership	6,165,657 (2023)
Technical
Line length	37.5 miles (60.4 km)
Number of tracks	2 (at Aurora station) 3 (Aurora–La Vergne) 4 (La Vergne–Chicago Union Station)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	Up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h)
Route map BNSF Line highlighted in green Show interactive map Legend to Antioch to Big Timber Road to Fox Lake 0 mi Chicago Union Station Blue to O'Hare  to Forest Park 14th Street Yard St. Charles Air Line to Joliet to Manhattan I-90 / I-94 1.8 mi 2.9 km Halsted Street Pink to the Loop 3.8 mi 6.1 km Western Avenue Western Avenue Corridor Pink to 54th/​Cermak Belt Railway of Chicago 7.0 mi 11.3 km Cicero 7.5 mi 12.1 km Morton Park 8.5 mi 13.7 km Clyde IC West Line 9.1 mi 14.6 km La Vergne 9.6 mi 15.4 km Berwyn 10.1 mi 16.3 km Harlem Avenue 11.1 mi 17.9 km Riverside Des Plaines River 11.8 mi 19 km Hollywood Salt Creek 12.3 mi 19.8 km Brookfield 13.1 mi 21.1 km Congress Park Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad 13.8 mi 22.2 km La Grange Road 14.2 mi 22.9 km Stone Avenue 15.5 mi 24.9 km Western Springs I-294 16.4 mi 26.4 km Highlands 16.9 mi 27.2 km Hinsdale 17.8 mi 28.6 km West Hinsdale 18.3 mi 29.5 km Clarendon Hills 19.5 mi 31.4 km Westmont 20.4 mi 32.8 km Fairview Avenue 21.2 mi 34.1 km Downers Grove 22.6 mi 36.4 km Belmont I-355 24.5 mi 39.4 km Lisle DuPage River (East Branch) 28.5 mi 45.9 km Naperville DuPage River (West Branch) 31.6 mi 50.9 km Route 59 EJ&E Railway 33.4 mi 53.8 km Eola Hill Yard 37.5 mi 60.4 km Aurora Aurora (CB&Q Depot) Amtrak to Emeryville, Quincy, and Los Angeles Key BNSF Line Former route alignment Other Metra lines Other freight lines CTA lines Mileage source[2] All stations are accessible except Halsted Street, Western Avenue, and Congress Park. This diagram: view talk edit Show BSicon diagram map

The BNSF Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its western suburbs, running from Chicago Union Station to Aurora, Illinois through the Chicago Subdivision. In 2010, the BNSF Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership (average 64,600) of the 11 Metra lines.^[3] While Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, the BNSF line's color on Metra timetables is "Cascade Green," in honor of the Burlington Northern Railroad.^[4]

As of April 29, 2024, the public timetable shows 91 trains (44 inbound, 47 outbound) on the BNSF Line on weekdays. Of these, 32 inbound trains originate from Aurora, one from Downers Grove Main Street, nine from Fairview Avenue, and two from Brookfield. Five outbound trains terminate at Brookfield, eight at Fairview Avenue, three at Naperville, and the rest at Aurora. Weekend and holiday service consists of 36 trains (18 in each direction), with trains making all stops from Union Station to Aurora, save for a morning and afternoon inbound express train and an afternoon outbound train that run express from Union Station to Downers Grove Main Street.

The line is operated by BNSF under a "purchase of service agreement" with Metra, inherited from Burlington Northern. While Metra owns all rolling stock, the management and crews are BNSF employees. BNSF is the owner of the right-of-way, controls the line and handles dispatching from corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. Metra imposes a 70 mph maximum allowed speed for passenger trains. The BNSF Line is the only remaining Metra commuter line that operates via a purchase-of-service agreement since the Union Pacific Railroad transferred the operations and supplying of commuter trains to Metra for the routes originating from the Ogilvie Transportation Center in 2025.